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situation

noun

Simple meaning

The way things are at a certain time or place

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

sihchooayshuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

sɪtʃuˈeɪʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.

  2. UK

    A condition or position in which you find yourself

    “The unpleasant situation (or position) of having to choose between two evils.”

  3. The way in which something is positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings.

  4. A difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.

  5. UK

    Physical position in relation to the surroundings

  6. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.

Used this way, situation is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use situation

  • “The unpleasant situation (or position) of having to choose between two evils.”noun
  • “The present international situation is dangerous.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Combination / general

particular situationgiven situation

Other combinations

present situationpolitical situationeconomic situationnew situationcurrent situationsimilar situation

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • position

    A status or rank.

  • office

    A position of responsibility.

  • berth

    An appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as comfortable or good.

  • site

    The posture or position of a thing.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • situation comedynounCompound term

    A humorous drama based on situations that might arise in day-to-day life.

  • no-win situationnounCompound term

    A situation in which a favorable outcome is impossible.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances

position

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.